Category: News Roundup

EASTSIDE ODOR: Frustrated county officials prepare to ask a judge to curtail operations at BS Ranch and Farm after learning the recycling plant continued accepting waste despite being ordered to quit doing so as of Friday. SCIENCE FAIR: A page one feature about the state science fair, ending today at the Lakeland Center, focuses on a seven-year project by Lakeland […]

The Girls Rock empowerment event for ages 5-18 adds a technology focus this year | FSC awards its economic freedom prize to 1965 alum Bill Becker | A whole three days after BS Ranch & Farm was ordered to quit receiving new waste, neighbors say the odor is still there. Source: The Ledger

TROLLER: There’s “no conclusive evidence” that LHS Athletic Director Justin Troller and another teacher conspired to get a student suspended, a School Board investigator concludes, a finding that diverges from one of the reasons the superintendent recommends he be fired. OAKBRIDGE: Land at the Oakbridge and Grasslands developments along Harden Boulevard went through state-certified reclamation process before homes […]

FLY LIKE A GIRL: Katie Wyatt is directing Indie Atlantic Films‘ first feature-length film, a documentary that explores the history of women in aviation | Learn more, support on Indiegogo STORE CLOSING: The Family Christian store on a Lakeland Square outparcel is closing at an unspecified date as the 240-store chain goes out of business. […]

POWER PAUSE: Lakeland Electric is delaying the re-start of its Unit 5 generator to secure a permit to remove an osprey that found a home there while the unit was offline. TROPICS OWNER: “Panos” Iakovidis is a busy man. In addition to his new role as majority owner of the Florida Tropics, the cardiothoracic surgeon is chairman of […]

BRIAN BURNS, The Ledger’s new publisher, invites readers to an “open discussion on the media (and) our community” at 8:30 a.m. April 6 in an editorial that seeks to differentiate between the newspaper staff’s local reporting and the national coverage (particularly of the Trump administration) provided by other news organizations. SOPHIA JEAN, a 17-year-old student at Harrison […]

OAKBRIDGE: A lawyer involved in a lawsuit against the developers of Oakbridge and Grasslands says his firm has heard from more than 100 residents concerned about possible radiation hazards. U.S. Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Lakeland, says he has “absolutely zero” to do with the case and that his letter mentioned in the lawsuit referred to EPA flyovers of […]

THAT SMELL: Neighbors and the state Department of Environmental Protection say a recycling company on Maine Avenue near the Polk Parkway is spewing a stench smelled for several miles. But officials with the company, BS Ranch & Farm, dispute they’re the cause. The County Commission agreed unanimously in December to shift land-use regulations for the plant after their staff […]

SPRING OBSESSION: The annual event brings 60 gardening vendors and displays to Munn Park Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Lakeland Rotary Club is the new sponsor with proceeds purchasing emergency medical packets for local schools. EAST LAKELAND CLEANUP: Crystal Lake, Eaton Park, Skyview and South Combee benefit from a beautification program March 18. Construction […]